When a public official abuses his position and power, he or she drains the public trust and discredits the principles of democracy.

This is why it was so troubling when the Chicago Tribune printed an article last week showing two jurors in the corruption trial of former Gov. George Ryan who gave false answers on jury questionnaires.

Ryan was charged Dec. 17, 2005 with a 22-count indictment that includes fraud and racketeering conspiracy charges. The indictments allege that for more than a decade Ryan and his friends steered state contracts in return for bribes, and Ryan and his family benefitted from illegal gifts and loans totaling $167,000.

Ryan and the public deserve a fair trial, but that fairness seemed to be teetering treacherously following the Tribune’s report of juror misconduct.

Just when a mistrial seemed almost unavoidable, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer took action, replacing the two jurors in question, Evelyn Ezell and Robert Pavlick, with new ones and allowing the trial to proceed.

Pallmeyer, 51, listened to hours of arguments from prosecutors and the defense in closed-door sessions before carefully making the decision to keep the five and a half month trial alive.

Pallmeyer faced opposition on both sides, making her anticipated decision far from easy.

“I think at least somebody in one of the media outlets that I happened to see referred to this situation as ‘the judge’s nightmare’ or ‘the judge’s worst nightmare,'” Pallmeyer said in a press conference following the closed-door session. “I don’t know if that’s an exaggeration, but I can certainly tell you this has been an enormous challenge for me.”

With caution Pallmeyer made her decision, and she made the right one. A mistrial would have discredited the trial and would have been costly to taxpayers.

Pallmeyer defended the public trust with her decision, and for doing so, should be commended.